D&D is fun, but can it help improve player confidence? We recently shared clip on social media (on 5/2/25) showing a stark contrast between how kid player Khloe handled the pressure of mid-battle decision-making back in Season 1 compared to Season 2. On this episode, Allison, Nicole @gamemastermom, and Daniel @thedrawing bard chat about how they've seen kids grow in confidence while playing D&D, and about the vision behind Nicole & Daniel's new storybook "Tales of Aetheria: An Unexpected Quest". You can back the book now at www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamemastermom/tales-of-aetheria-an-unexpected-quest!

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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In a recent episode of our original kid-focused Dungeons & Dragons show (S2E06 "An Ominous Warning"), the party wakes in the night to a surprise attack! Caught at a disadvantage, our heroes are in dire straights, and the kids start to get scared. Ryan and Allison discuss when and how it's appropriate to include scary elements into your D&D game with kids.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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In the latest episode our original kid-focused Dungeons & Dragons show (S2E06 "An Ominous Warning"), mom Raenelle steps in to negotiate between new teen player Dillon and the rest of the group, thereby both modeling and including our kid players through the art of negotiation. We call the method she employs, "Yes, or", as opposed to the popular improv comedy method "Yes, and", and we think it's crucial to running TTRPG games with kids. Ryan and Allison discuss this method and how it empowers players of all ages at your TTRPG table without letting the game slide totally off the rails.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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Allison & Red Wyrm discuss how to transition kids into the D&D Dungeon Master seat on this episode of Area of Effect. Red Wyrm and his son "The Wyrmling" started playing D&D when The Wyrmling was just 2 years old, and he started DMing at the ripe age of 4! Red Wyrm now publishes DMing tips & plot hooks by The Wyrmling on Instagram and Blue Sky and his blog with DMing advice and random tables for your home game can be found at ⁠ www.Wyrmden.com⁠! A great place to start encouraging your kid to DM is to help create the world & story - ask them for their suggestions for the setting, NPCs, and storyline or have them help draw/build the game map. Red Wyrm also suggests teaming new kid DMs up with an adult DM with the kid running the story and the adult assisting on the more complicated game mechanics. Any kid can boost their confidence, social skills, & speaking skills by jumping into the DM role!

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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Allison chats with Shelly Mazzanoble, author and podcast host, as she discusses her new book and shares a humorous take on parenting from a Dungeons & Dragons perspective. Learn "How to Dungeon Master Parenting" and level up your parenting skills in this entertaining episode of Area of Effect! Find Shelly's writing projects at ⁠https://shellymazzanoble.com/

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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Allison chats with Colin of Family Fantasy RPG about the difficulties parents face in playing D&D with kids. These road bumps led him to create his own wildly popular kids' TTRPGs: Fairies of the Mistglade and Dino Riderz, available on DriveThruRPG.com!

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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What if our schools could be places that helped kids not only learn how to read, write, and become good citizens, but also how to work together in community? In this week's episode, Allison interviews Lucas Maxwell, librarian and author in London about his experience of bringing D&D and TTRPGs into his school's library--and how kids have been flourishing ever since.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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Imagine playing Dungeons & Dragons as an elementary schooler, then a middle schooler, then a high schooler. Imagine how different the experience would be at each stage, and imagine how the game would change along with you. For the girls of Dungeons & Dragons & Daughters, they don't have to imagine it--they've lived it! In this episode, Allison speaks with Sam & Bertie, two of the sixteen-year-olds on Dungeons & Dragons & Daughters, and their father the DM Curt, about what it's been like to play the game since they first started their podcast seven years ago, and how their experience of the game has changed over the years.

You can find Dungeons & Dragons & Daughters on YouTube @dungeonsdragonsdaughtersyo955, on PodBean at ⁠https://dungeonsdragonsdaughters.podbean.com/⁠ and wherever else you get your podcasts.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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Strengthening your mental wellness can be hard, so why not make it fun with D&D? In this episode, our guest Rachel Gilmore of Ready for Anything Counseling chats with Allison about her work as a licensed therapist who incorporates Dungeons & Dragons into her therapy work with college students & other adults. The mental health benefits of D&D--both in and out of the therapy setting - have only recently been studied, and include developing emotional intelligence, social skills, resilience, coping habits, & more. When you bring kids to the table, their mental wellness gets a boost!

If you or a loved one is facing a mental health crisis, we urge you to seek professional support. Therapy is widely available online (ex: www.betterhelp.com), in your local area, and, for those in the US, via the 988 national suicide & crisis hotline. Help is available. You are valuable. You are not alone.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first season of The Kids Table is complete! Filmed back in 2022, this amateur actual-play campaign premiered in short episode form in December 2023, publishing kid-friendly episodes every other week until the finale this month--and we've been overwhelmed by the support from the community. In this special episode of Area of Effect, the cast answers fan questions and reflects on the filming process, what it's been like for now-nine year olds Beckett and Khloe to watch their six year old selves play, and what they're excited about for the upcoming season two.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices